2,350-year-old Cybele statue found

 

From the article:  

"A marble statue of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele created 2,350 years ago has been discovered in the ancient city of Antandrus, located in the Edremit district of western Türkiye's Balıkesir province.  Noting that the statue was used as a stone in the walls of the Roman villa in Antandrus, Polat continued: 'The artifact, unfortunately, is not in a well-protected situation. However, we can understand it depicts the mother goddess Cybele.' Polat informed that the statue depicts Cybele sitting on the throne with lion figures on both sides along with another lion on her lap."

Read the full article here

(© photo: Anadolu Agency)

Goddess Cybele's stele from Ephesus to be displayed in Izmir

 

From the article:

"A 2,200-year-old marble stele unearthed in the ancient city of Ephesus in the Selçuk district of western Izmir province is now on display for the public for the first time since its discovery. Izmir Museum Director Cengiz Topal provided information about the artifact, explaining: 'Cybele is an Anatolian goddess. She symbolizes abundance and fertility. Her dwelling is mostly mountains, reunited with the wild nature. It is a 2,200-year-old piece of art made of marble. The stele of the mother goddess Cybele and her lions, engraved with a relief technique, is 40 centimeters (16 inches) long'."

Read Full Article Here

(© photo DHA)

Cybele figurines discovered in Bergama

 

From the article:
"'We have been working on sanctuaries in the region for several years. We have identified sacred areas within the city area. This was also a surprise. Because we usually found the Cybele figurine outside the city and in the surrounding areas. After we found the figurines, we deepened the excavations in those areas. The newly found figurines give us a lot of information about the religious belief of the period. At that time, Gods such as Zeus and Athena were official cults, but the figurines unearthed in natural sanctuaries tell us the belief of the people. There was a wide spectrum of religions in Bergama 2,200 years ago and people believed in different Gods. Cybele statuettes in tombs, natural areas, and sanctuaries found in the city center reveal that the people generally preferred the Anatolian fertility Goddess.'

"Underlining that their articles on the Cybele find in the region were met with interest in the international archeology world, Ateş said, 'Even though official beliefs have changed, the cult of mother Goddess, fertility and mother earth has continued to live in people’s hearts. The existence of women and their symbolization of nature was very strong in Anatolia'."

Click to Read the Full Article

(© photo Arkeonews)

Prayer to Cybele

"Hail Great Idaean Mother of the Gods!

Hail O Most Holy Elder Goddess!

We humbly pray, O Cybele,

Berecynthian Mother Dindymene!

Take us under Thy protection

That Thou may defend us.

We offer this prayer

To graciously grant peace and joy,

And health to our families.

Look favorably upon us

and never abandon Thy children."

(Cybele, bronze, 2nd century CE; Metropolitan Museum of Art)

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning

www.inhername.com

News: 2nd Century statue of Goddess Cybele found in Plovdiv

From the article:

"Archaeologists working at the Forum site in Bulgaria’s city of Plovdiv have found a marble statuette of the Roman goddess Cybele . . The statuette is believed to date from the second century CE and was part of the pantheon of Philippopolis, an ancient name of Plovdiv, during the Roman era. . .In Roman mythology, Cybele was the universal mother, not only of the gods, but also of all humans, animals and plant life. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea."

Read the Full Article - Link

Hymn to Magna Mater

 

"O eternal Creatrix of Gods and men, who animates forest and stream with soul, and joins seeds of life together throughout the world and you bear the stones of Pyrrha that were enlivened into men by the hand of Prometheus. Hungry men you were first to give nourishment with a variety of foods. You encircle and carry the sea within you. Under your power are the gentleness of domesticated herds and the ferocity of wild beasts and the repose from flight of birds. Firm and immobile, unsetting power of the earth suspended in the vacuum of space. You are the center around which the rapid heavens revolve. All the heavenly bodies, in chariots of fire, wheel about you, O center of the universe, indivisible from the great brotherhood of the Gods. Therefore are you the bountiful who nourishes so many nations, and at the same time so many high cities and so many noble peoples. You provide yourself and all the world as one, from above and below."

 

 

 

 

(Hymn by Statius in "Thebiad", photo of Magna Mater / Cybele statue, Getty Museum)

Hymn to Cybele

 

Hail Great Idaean Mother of the Gods!
Hail O Most Holy Elder Goddess!
I humbly pray, O Cybele,
Berecynthian Mother Dindymene!
Take us under Thy protection
That Thou may defend us.
We offer this prayer
To graciously grant peace and joy,
And health to our families.
Look favorably upon us
and never abandon Thy children.

(Cybele, Nicaea, Bithynia. İstanbul Archaeological Museum.)

In Her Name ~ Temple of Learning